A Book's Cover
by XDavien
Summary: Things are more than what they seem on the outside. Especially in the Underground. That was a lesson Sarah thought she had learned long ago, but never fully did. Feeling lost in her life, she returns to the maze to solve it once more. Only to find how much it's changed, and so did the one whom she once thought of as a villain. *Rated 'MA'


**Prologue:**** There Once Was A Book**

Prophesies are funny things; they don't always happen at the most opportune times. For instance...

Long ago in a kingdom far, far away there lived a king. This particular king refused to marry. Not because he didn't have a heart. On the contrary, his heart was capable of such love and devotion that he hid it away in fear of the wrong hands destroying it. As his heart was walled in for no one to find, so was his kingdom. The rules of enchantment that allowed him to govern his constituents, the goblins, also tied him to the very land. Allowing his will to govern that, as well. And so the Labyrinth was formed.

Yet, a king without a queen by his side, is no kind of king at all. The rules that dictated the Underground only gave true power through the bond of King and Queen. And as the years progressed the King's power waned. Enchantments became harder for him to do, no matter how frequently he practiced those arts with his crystals.

The Fae elders of the Underground looked to prophets, trying to see if there ever would be any hope for their brethren. It was Seen that there was an individual that existed, a mortal, whom could claim his heart. Finding this mortal girl and bringing her to the Underground would be the tricky part. And so the red, leather-bound book came into being, created by magic, enchanted to seek the true queen of the goblins. One whose will was just as strong as the king's. Whose playful nature, pure heart, and strength matched his own.

When the chosen girl found the book (or more accurately, when the book found her), a ripple could be felt through the Underground. One that the king also felt and was intrigued by. He could feel a pull that caused him to visit a land without magic, in the only form Fae were allowed to be seen in (without being called on, that is). So, in the animal form of an owl, he visited the young girl, feeling linked with her somehow. And as the days passed and he observed her, his heart softened. Some days she would dress up and act out scenes very dramatically, causing him to feel such glee. Sometimes she would gaze at the clouds, her eyes full of dreams, and how he wished he could know what she thought of. The times she would cry and throw things in anger, he wanted nothing more than to comfort her. And then there were times when she mentioned his realm, and even him. It was a mystery he could not solve. And he couldn't stop coming back, his heart wouldn't let him.

The book's task was not only to find the girl, but to bring her to the Underground. Such things have to be done in a very specific way. There is order in magic and special, powerful words that must be said; yet can never be told. It gave her all the instruction it could, the rest was up to her.

Luckily, the girl was always adept at solving riddles. She did so without even realizing it, calling that world to her. The prophets knew that she would accept the King's offer to try and solve his labyrinth. But as the girl made her way through his defenses, getting deeper and deeper into his heart, he fought it tooth and nail. Challenging her and trying to keep her out, every step of the way... Old habits are hard to break. And yet at the same time, he cared for her so deeply that he didn't want any harm to befall her, for he had fallen in love with the girl. This new emotion, hearing his heart awaken after being dormant for so very long, terrified him. He loved her, yet didn't fully understand what that meant. And he did as he was used to doing. Using trickery and deception against her. Trying to stop her progress, until she was finally there.

And as for the girl? Her determination to save her baby brother made her miss the entire point of the journey. It was the babe that she focused on, never herself. And never him. The final pleads made to her were dismissed as the trickery of the Goblin King, for she was young and naive to such things as love. She was unable to see them for what they truly were; pleas from a man in love. Who had to watch that love be torn from him. Shattering his world.

**Chapter 1:**** Sometimes The Smallest Things Make You Reevaluate Your Life**

Sarah watched the gelatinous, red goo slide out of the can to plop itself in the pot below. Like a robot, she walked over to the sink and poured some hot water in the can, swirling it around, then bringing it back and adding it to the pot. Slowly, she stirred the concoction, feeling herself drift off with her thoughts. Daydreaming was something that happened regularly to Sarah, and always had. If nothing else, she would always be a dreamer. But tonight those dreams were more of the melancholy nature; not the wistful fantasy land that she usually escaped to.

Green eyes gazed into the swirling mixture, wondering if she would ever feel contentment. Nothing had fulfilled her in this world. Getting out of her parent's house, going away to college, getting her own apartment, getting a job. All things that would make a normal person happy. Yet, she was never quite normal. And all those things weren't as great as she thought they would be. Well, perhaps getting away from her dad and stepmother was the best out of all of them. But her apartment was cramped, the heater never worked quite right, and she missed being around Toby. That and the yelling neighbors with screaming children that kept her up at all hours. But with the job she had, it was all she could afford. She took the job, thinking that it would be glamorous working in a theater, and just what she had always wanted to do. Yet, the politics and seniority system there made it so she couldn't get any really decent parts. She had to make ends meet by doing odd tasks for them, like set design and cleaning. Not what she had envisioned, but it was the only one in town so she had to deal with it.

Smelling something scorch and seeing that she had let the soup heat too long and boil, she turned the heat off. "_Damn_!" Putting the spoon down on the stove-top, she watched it continue to bubble. Entranced by it, yet not really seeing it. Through the wall she could hear her neighbor loudly accusing her husband of cheating, again. She held her frozen fingers over the hot soup pot, letting them warm over the steam. There was no one else there other than her dog, Merlin, yet she spoke aloud. "Is this really my life?" Tears welled to the surface of her eyes as she wondered how she had gotten so very lost. The girl who had once solved a living, moving maze. Who had made unconventional friends along the way. Eaten an enchanted peach and forgot everything, only to gain those memories back out of sheer determination. Who faced the villain from the storybook, and reclaimed what was rightfully hers. And _now_ she was lost?

Sarah felt like she needed her friends. The friends she had made in the Underground that were all so very dear to her, and yet she let them go. Over the years, she had stopped calling on them. Her father was always telling her that she needed to get her head out of the clouds and grow up. When she got back from her journey, she did feel as though she had learned many lessons and had matured into something he would be proud of. That she could again be in his good graces, like the way things used to be before her stepmother came along. But whatever she did, didn't seem good enough. Her mind still lingered in that other world. The world of fantasy. The Underground. Being reminded of it constantly was no help. It was like she was being pulled in so many different directions, that she decided to focus on the real world. The one she was in and had to be a part of. To try and live her life without that other one always beckoning to her. So, with tears in her eyes, she had put a thick, canvas cloth over her old vanity mirror. And said goodbye to that chapter of her life. But she never could do so permanently. When she moved, she had brought that particular piece of furniture; unable to let it go. It was actually still in her room.

With a gasp, Sarah realized what she needed in order to find her way again. She went to her room, and pulled the dusty canvas off of her old mirror. For a moment, she just looked at it with a calm reverie. Merlin had followed and was curiously observing all of her actions. She glanced over to him. "It's worth a try." Green eyes intently moved back to the mirror as she got closer and sat down in front of it. "Hoggle? I need you." The comment brought tears to her eyes again. It had been too long since she last talked to him, she wished and hoped that he would still answer her.

A gruff voice sounded through the mirror. "Sarah?"

In the mirror it appeared as though the perplexed dwarf stood behind her. Keeping her eyes on the image in the mirror, she grinned. "Hoggle! It's _so_ good to see you. Please forgive me for not calling on you sooner."

He grinned back at her, still looking slightly confused. "Sarah! It is you! You've grown up so much, I barely recognized ya." He let out a laugh at that, and then sobered when catching a glimpse of her eyes. He leaned in closer to get a better look. "Are you in trouble?!"

Her smile turned to a sad one. "I'm afraid that I am. I have a question for you. You know how you all were able to travel through this mirror to visit me? Is there anyway that you could take me there instead of coming through?"

Any confusion that was ever on his face was magnified by at least ten times. "But why would ya wanna come _here_ for?"

Unsure if she could explain it right, she tried as best she could. "I'm lost, Hoggle. I need to go back to where things made sense to me... As crazy at that sounds. I need to solve the maze again."

He shifted his eyes away from her and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "It's not the same as it was when you were here."

Sarah's lips twisted up in a mischievous grin as she cocked her head. "So that means that you can do it then? That you can pull me through?"

With a sigh he rolled his eyes and placed a hand out for her. As he reached closer, his own hand emerged out of the image of his hand that was previously in the mirror. Sarah grasped it, and looked over her shoulder at the dog sitting on the floor. "C'mon Merlin." He got up and obediently went over and she grabbed onto his collar with her other hand.

"Who said_ he_ could come?!" Hoggle looked at the dog suspiciously; the thing looked just like Didymus' mutt, which was even more of a coward than Hoggle.

"I can't very well leave him all alone! I have no idea how long I'll be gone for. Please, can't you watch him for me? He'll be no problem at all. Besides, I'm sure you could use the company. Still living alone?"

The curmudgeonly dwarf grumbled. "That's none of your business!" With a sigh he finally caved. "Oh, alright. I s'pose he can come, too." He then yanked her, and her dog, through the mirror. Bringing Sarah back to the Underground. The very place she belonged in.

Meanwhile, in the castle beyond the Goblin City... Jareth paced the highest turret, his face racked with worry. It seemed useless to hope for anything to get better. His kingdom had been shattered ever since she left. And from there it only got worse. Now he had to watch it crumble. Feeling weak, and helpless as his people suffered. The Labyrinth had become overgrown with briars and thorns, he would no longer walk through it as he once had. Nor would his spies report anything to him, they weren't able to pass through like before. Everything he had seen through his crystals only saddened him; that is what he told himself was the excuse as to why he didn't gaze into them any longer. He wouldn't admit to himself that he no longer had the power to even conjure as small a thing as a crystal. Everything was slipping through his fingers. And he was feeling too drained to barely care any longer. His body slumped against the stone wall, mismatched blue eyes lingering on the saddened state of the city below. Resigned to watch it all fade away.


End file.
